Christina Rossetti, selected poems Contents
- Social / political context
- Religious / philosophical context
- Literary context
- A Better Resurrection
- A Birthday
- A Royal Princess
- At Home
- Cousin Kate
- Despised and Rejected
- Echo
- Goblin Market
- Good Friday
- Jessie Cameron
- L.E.L
- Maude Clare
- Remember
- Shut Out
- Song (When I am dead, my dearest)
- Summer is Ended
- The Convent Threshold
- The Lowest Place
- To Lalla, reading my verses topsy-turvy
- Twice
- Up-hill
- Winter: My Secret
'Song (When I am dead, my dearest)' - Synopsis and commentary
Synopsis
The speaker of Song looks forward to his/her own death and instructs a lover or friend not to mourn or sing ‘sad songs' (line 2) once s/he is gone.
Investigating Song (When I am dead, my dearest)
- What are your associations with the idea of ‘life after death'?
- Are any of these associations shared by the speaker in the poem?
Commentary
Publication
Rossetti composed Song (When I am dead, my dearest) in 1848. It was first published in Goblin Market and Other Poems. Subsequently, it has appeared in various collections and has been given numerous musical settings.
Language and music
Rossetti's interest in combining language with music becomes apparent when we consider that:
- Ten of her poems are entitled Song
- Several begin with the word ‘Songs'
- Many are composed of a song-like structure and rhythm.
Relationships
In Song, the speaker urges his/her ‘dearest' not to let the memory of the speaker get in the way of living his or her own life. S/he declares that his/her happiness in death does not depend on anyone else.
The word ‘haply' comes from the phrase ‘by hap' which means by chance or accident or perhaps. By saying that once dead, ‘haply' s/he ‘may remember' or ‘haply may forget' (lines 15-16) the pain of living on the earth, s/he indicates that it matters little whether others remember or forget the speaker. Rather than being a pre-mediated decision, s/he suggests that remembrance is a matter of chance.
Nature
In Song, Rossetti has her speaker combine the anticipation of death with the ongoing life of nature. S/he looks forward to a time when the ‘green grass' will grow above him/her and the ‘showers and dewdrops wet' will offer protection and the lover some comfort (lines 5, 6).
Investigating Song (When I am dead, my dearest)
- Rossetti refers to the act of singing and musical expression. How does this affect the mood that the poem creates?
- Write down references to the act of singing
- What is the creation of music shown to be an expression of?
- What comes to mind when you think about nature?
- Do you see these associations shared by the speaker of the poem?
- List the phrases which indicate that the speaker depends on another for happiness
- To what extent do you think people are defined by the relationships they are in (somebody's child, somebody's sibling, somebody's pupil/employee etc)?
- Do you think an individual can understand him or herself in isolation from such relationships?
- What evidence can you find in the poem that an individual can understand him or herself in isolation from such relationships?
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